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Title: From Charles R. Jennison to Charles Robinson
Description: This letter was written by Charles R. Jennison in Mound City, Kansas, to Kansas Gov. Charles Robinson on August 22, 1862. Jennison writes that in southern Kansas there is “a general feeling that Lane is a great humbug.” Jennison notes that he has a petition from Dr. Mitchell – a Missourian – and other “Lane men” who are organizing a new regiment in Mound City. Jennison believes that Kansas men should command Kansas troops.
Date: August 22, 1862

Title: From Samuel R. Ayres to Lyman Langdon
Description: This letter was written on August 24 and 27, 1863 by Samuel R. Ayres in Moneka, Kansas, to Lyman Langdon. Ayres writes that “along our Missouri border we are subject to almost constant raids from the Bushwhackers over the line who rob our citizens burn their houses and murder prominent men.” Ayres offers a description of Quantrill’s recent raid on Lawrence, Kansas, calling it “an act of barbarity but seldom if ever equaled by the most savage tribes.” Ayres says that he and other local citizens are organizing to defend Mound City, Kansas from guerrilla attacks.
Date: August 24, 1863-August 27, 1863

Title: From John Brown, Jr. to My Dear Friend
Description: This letter, dated July 18, 1862, is from John Brown, Jr., a former member of the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, to his friend Parker Pillsbury. Last winter, Brown writes, he and his regiment helped to free more than 2,000 slaves. Now, he says, the commander of the regiment, Lieut. Col. Daniel R. Anthony, is under arrest. Brown includes a copy of a letter he received from another friend, Arthur T. Reeve, concerning Brig. Gen. Mitchell's arrest of Anthony. Brown writes: “His arrest for such a cause is in the estimation of every true man a greater honor than to have won a battle.”
Object Type: Letter
Date: June 26, 1862-July 18, 1862

Title: From Walthall Robinson to Sister Em
Description: This letter, dated October 25, 1863, was written by Walthall Robinson in Miami, Missouri, to his sister Em. Walthall provides a detailed account of Shelby’s Raid and the Battle of Marshall, declaring, "Affairs have not changed any for the better…I greatly fear a complete state of anarchy and terrorism.” He describes a violent encounter between some aquaintances and two “Jim Lane men,” and concludes that the November elections will determine “whether there will be any safety whatever” in Missouri.
Date: October 25, 1863

Title: From Sumner Corbin to Frank Walker
Description: Sumner Corbin writes a letter from Linn County, Kansas to his friend Frank Walker on March 4, 1862. He tells Walker that many local men have enlisted in the 3rd and 4th Kansas Volunteer Regiments under the command of Col. Montgomery. He adds that a number of them no longer like Montgomery because he refused to commission Charles Jennison. Since then, Corbin says, Jennison became a Brigadier General of another regiment and has “cleaned out all the border counties of Missouri.”
Date: March 4, 1862

Title: From John C. Gage to Dear Friends
Description: This letter, dated September 1, 1862, was written by John C. Gage in Kansas City, Missouri to friends in Pelham, New Hampshire. John states that Confederate forces camped nearby have retreated to Arkansas, leaving the area vulnerable to guerrilla attacks. The biggest threat comes from Jim Lane’s brigade under Jennison, which is “raising and arming negroes in Kansas to plunder good citizens in Missouri.” Of Jennison, John declares, “He ought to be killed and I would esteem it the best act of my life to do it.”
Date: September 1, 1862

Title: From G.A. Parsons to Robert M. Stewart
Description: This dispatch, dated December 8, 1860, is from G.A. Parsons, Adjutant General of the Missouri Militia, to Missouri Gov. Robert M. Stewart. Parsons reports that a “band of marauders of Kansas Territory” murdered a Missouri citizen for capturing a fugitive slave. The 300 mounted and armed marauders, under the command of James Montgomery and Charles Jennison, have also captured slaves and threatened the lives of Missouri citizens. Parsons asks Stewart to send troops to the border to protect citizens “threatened with arson plunder and death.”
Date: December 8, 1860

Title: Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri
Description: The Appendix to the Journals of the Twenty-First General Assembly of Missouri was printed in 1861 by W.G. Cheeney in Jefferson City, Missouri. It includes petitions and letters to Gov. Robert M. Stewart about the guerrilla attacks on Missouri led by James Montgomery and Charles Jennison. The appendix also includes Brig. Gen. D.M. Frost’s report on the South-West Expedition, affidavits relating to Jennison’s murder of Russell Hindes, and proceedings from the Southern Kansas Convention.
Object Type: Government Document
Date: 1861

Title: From Lewis A. Waterman to Dear Mother
Description: This letter, dated July 22, 1864, is from Lewis A. Waterman at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to his mother in Providence, Rhode Island. Waterman reports that William Quantrill invaded Kansas with about 500 Bushwhackers. In retaliation, Col. Jennison crossed into Missouri with 700 troops and killed about 150 men. Waterman also tells his mother about daily life at Fort Leavenworth.
Date: July 22, 1864

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865